Independent Law journalists report on legal news for consumers, litigants & Scotland's legal community including features on justice, access to justice, law reform, the judiciary, politics & in-depth investigations, analysis and commentaries on legal related issues.

Thursday, October 06, 2011

Scottish Judges refuse to declare hospitality or interests, yet their decisions on civil cases frequently side with vested interests, affect billions of pounds & countless lives. SCOTTISH JUDGES are refusing to disclose hospitality they receive or complete a register of interests which may potentially reveal to many court users some members of the judiciary presiding over civil damages claims, a professional negligence or medical accident claims, or even in some cases criminal cases, may well have accepted hospitality from, have a friendship or association with, or might even have a business relationship with whoever is standing at the other side of the court room. No matter the severity of the conflict of interest, no one has has the right to know, because there is no register of interests or hospitality for Scottish judges and no plans to bring one in by the current Lord President Lord Hamilton.

However, it seems transparency in the judiciary only goes so far and will NOT extend to publishing a full & frank register of hospitality or interests, with the Judiciary Office for Scotland declaring there are NO PLANS to publish a register of hospitality for Scotland’s multi million pound judiciary. A further statement by the Lord President available on the Judiciary of Scotland website appears to indicate there are no plans for a register of interests

A spokesperson for the Judicial Office for Scotland stated : “The Judicial Office for Scotland does not hold a register of hospitality for members of the judiciary and there are no plans to do so. The Lord President has set out formal guidelines to the judiciary in the STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES OF JUDICIAL ETHICS. Para 4.9 and 7.2 address this particular point.”

While the Judicial Office may be reluctant to disclose more information on its members, curious court users & legal insiders who have long been looking into the relationships & financial backgrounds of “some” members of the Scottish judiciary say it is in the interests of transparency & justice that judges to submit to a register of hospitality & pecuniary interests due to the power & effect their actions & judgements in court have over billions of pounds, legislation as passed by our elected representatives & the public at large.

In an age where it is now unthinkable for elected politicians and anyone in a public office to avoid registering their outside interests or hospitality received, members of the judiciary who in some cases earn £200K plus a year from the public purse are allowed to remain exempt from complying with any requirement to disclose their hospitality their financial interests, because the judges themselves decided it was not to be required of them to do so. However, in an age where transparency must be brought to all those funded by the public purse, there are growing calls for this to change and for judges who are ultimately paid by taxpayers, to fall into line with everyone else bankrolled by the public purse.

Naturally, anyone receiving such a large salary along with expenses and considerable power & influence to their name, in this case, all starting life from the public purse in the name of upholding justice, looks for safe, sometimes discreet, or even ‘out-of-reach-of-the-taxman’ havens to invest some of their ‘well earned’ crust for sitting in judgement over the rest of us.

From enquiries carried out by a group of court users investigating hospitality & the financial interests of members of the judiciary who quietly exert their considerable influence within ‘little talked about circles’, the investments of some of those on the bench (not just in Scotland) appear to follow a wide and not always expected, range of destinations, ranging from finance companies, insurance companies & their syndicates, care homes (including one accused of abusing its patients), gambling, private schools, & so on, while some others hold burgeoning property portfolios ranging from the expensive to houses on former Council estates, financial relationships with letting agents & housing associations, and even offshore investments along with somewhat dubious trusts managed by equally dubious Scottish law firms operating abroad, the details of which would easily drag down politicians in lurid headlines in the national press, and this is without even mentioning alleged investments in massage parlours, sex saunas & ‘themed dating agencies’ in Thailand.

A legal insider who has been studying some of the preliminary research on ‘judicial investments’ said it was only a matter of time before judges will be forced to declare their financial interests, hospitality and details of who they associate with, to ensure there is public confidence in an open & transparent judiciary.

He said : “The problem here is you have judges making their own rules. Its no use allowing judges to decide for themselves what they should or shouldn’t declare. In any profession such a power is a recipe for corruption, just as we saw during the expenses scandal at Westminster, where politicians were caught out stealing from the taxpayer and some were sent to jail.”

He continued : “In the case of judges, rather than the issue being a case of theft of public funds via expenses although of course it cannot be discounted, there may be conflicts of interests in terms of a judge’s investments, relationships, meetings etc which must be disclosed in the public interest otherwise you will end up with a situation where a judge has a vested interest in a case before him and says nothing. I’m sure its happened before given the numbers of cases in the courts.

A senior solicitor speaking to Diary of Injustice yesterday agreed there is a need for full disclosure in the judiciary and indicated the issue was under advanced discussion in other countries. He said : “The subject of a judicial register of interests is being discussed in other jurisdictions such as New Zealand, and I feel we should move with the times in Scotland to require the judiciary to do the same.”

In New Zealand, there is Member’s Bill in the New Zealand Parliament, introduced in late 2010 by Dr Kennedy Graham of the Green Party to introduce a Pecuniary Register of Interests for all judges, after a scandal involving the resignation of Justice Bill Wilson rocked the New Zealand legal establishment and brought into question the interests & relationships between judges & others.

Justice Wilson was forced to resign after it was reported he had failed to step down in a case or disclose his business and financial relationships with Auckland QC Alan Galbraith when sitting as a member of the Court of Appeal in an appeal in which Mr Galbraith successfully represented the Wool Board Disestablishment Company in their appeal against superfine wool producers Saxmere over wool board levies. There were allegations that Justice Wilson owed Mr Galbraith $242,804, which was not disclosed to the Court of Appeal hearing. The debt was denied by Justice Wilson. More on the scandal can be read HERE, HERE & HERE.

There are concerns similar relationships between members of the judiciary and law firms, lawyers & advocates may well exist in Scotland and may have had an effect particularly on some cases where members of the legal profession and even the Law Society of Scotland itself has faced legal action in the courts.

It is a time-honoured principle of Western democracy that public servants of every kind must be beyond reproach, and suspicion thereof. Public confidence in the standard of behaviour and conduct observed by leading servants of the people is a cornerstone of social harmony and political stability. A threshold of confidence to that end should ideally be enshrined in constitutional and legislative form. Little scope should be available for individual discretion or subjective perception.

The principle of transparency in this respect pertains in particular to issues of financial (pecuniary) interest. Nothing undermines public confidence in a nation’s institutions and procedures more than suspicion that a public servant may have, and especially proof that one has, suffered a conflict of interest arising from a pecuniary interest in a particular dealing in which he or she was professionally involved.

The correct balance in this respect appears to have been achieved over the years–the public interest in such annual statements is significant without appearing prurient, and few complaints have been voiced by those on whom the obligations are placed. There seems to be a general acceptance that such exercises are in the public interest and are neither unduly onerous nor revealing.

No such practice, however, has been observed in the case of the judiciary. Recent developments within New Zealand’s judicial conduct processes suggest that application of the same practice observed by the other two branches of government might assist in the protection of the judiciary in future.

Being obliged under law to declare pecuniary interests that might be relevant to the conduct of a future case in which one is involved would relieve a judge from a repetitive weight of responsibility to make discretionary judgements about his or her personal affairs as each case arises. Having declared one’s pecuniary interests once, in a generic manner independent of any particular trial, a judge may freely proceed in the knowledge that, if he or she is appointed to adjudicate, public confidence for participation has already been met. Yet care is to be exercised to ensure that the final decision is left to the individual judge whether to accept a case. There should be no intention of external interference into the self-regulation of the judiciary by the judiciary.

This is the reasoning behind this draft legislation–the Register of Pecuniary Interests of Judges Bill. The purpose of the Bill, as stated, is to promote the due administration of justice by requiring judges to make returns of pecuniary interests to provide greater transparency within the judicial system, and to avoid any conflict of interest in the judicial role.

Additionally, in the New Zealand lawyer online, it was reported New Zealand’s Law Commission discussed the possibility the planned register of interests should be expanded to include all judicial officials who could affect a case, saying in Chapter 8.25 of their discussion paper. The Law Commission stated : “If there is to be legislation, should it apply to all judges, or only to judges of some levels, or to all judicial employees and officials such as prosecutors and registrars? An argument can be made that if there is to be financial disclosure it should be required of all officials whose positions give them sufficient potential to influence the outcome of a case, whether as a result of a bribe or other improper influence.” The New Zealand Law Commission’s discussion paper on a register of judicial interests can be downloaded here :NZLC IP21 - Towards a New Courts Act: A Register of Judges' pecuniary interests? (pdf)

In Scotland, the situation is the exact opposite of moves in New Zealand to clean up its judiciary by requiring a register of interests. Lord Hamilton, speaking on ‘corruption in the judiciary’ claimed such issues “are virtually unknown in this jurisdiction”.

Lord Hamilton, Scotland’s Lord President. Lord President Lord Hamilton said in his statement : “While attempts to corrupt the judiciary are virtually unknown in this jurisdiction, a judge should be circumspect in the acceptance of any gift, hospitality, or favour from any private source. Where the benefit sought to be conferred upon the judge is not commensurate with an existing family or social relationship between him or her and the donor, or host, it should normally be declined. However, it is recognised that a judge may, from time to time, legitimately be entertained by legal, professional or public organisations or office-holders, in furtherance of good relations between them and the judiciary as a whole, or representatives of it. Furthermore, nothing said here should be understood as inhibiting judges from accepting invitations to give lectures, addresses, or speeches of a non-legal nature at dinners, or other occasions, or, in such an event, from accepting commensurate hospitality, tokens of appreciation for their efforts, or appropriate expenses of travel or accommodation.”

Lord Hamilton's statement continues : “It is considered appropriate that a judge may write, lecture, teach and participate in activities concerning the law, the legal system, the administration of justice and related matters. However, to obviate the perception that judicial office is being exploited for personal gain, a judge holding a full-time appointment should not generally receive any remuneration for such activities, with the traditional exception of fees and royalties as an author or editor, although the acceptance of a modest gift in recognition of a service given would be unexceptionable. Where a judge is offered a substantial fee for the activities described, such fee should go directly to charity. There is, of course, no objection to a judge accepting reasonable reimbursement of the cost of any necessary travel or accommodation required in attending lectures, seminars, etc. In the event of a judge engaging in literary, or other creative or artistic activities, there can be no objection to that judge receiving the normal royalties, fees, or other payments in respect of the results of those activities.”

Lacking the fear of being caught :Senior members of the judiciary & Crown Office knew of hooker sheriff sauna scandal for some time yet chose not to act. Rumours are another is around the corner. However, in spite of Lord Hamilton has said, it appears some members of Scotland’s judiciary are not very interested in excusing themselves from cases where their personal relationships, hospitality received, or professional gain may affect the outcomes of cases, nor are some members too bothered about who they associate with in private, where unpublished meetings include dates with dodgy businessmen, crime gang members, prostitutes from massage parlours & saunas (a scandal with forced one sheriff to resign, pictured), dodgy lawyers accused of fraud (who happen to escape prosecution), convicted sex offenders, and associations & meetings with lawyers who are known to act for tax dodgers in the Cayman Islands & other offshore tax havens. There are even cases of some members of Scotland’s judiciary using relationships with Police Officers to further their own professional interests outside of their judicial role, and also in some cases, members of the judiciary have used Police Officers to harass opponents of their private law firm’s high profile clients anxious their double lives are kept from the media & public’s prying eyes.

Clearly just as with solicitors escaping investigation into legal aid payments and fraud prosecutions courtesy of Mr MacAskill, there are also problems in Scotland’s judiciary where it appears regulation, or the fear of being caught out, is not strong enough to prevent some of its members abusing their positions either inside the court or outside. While the integrity of many of Scotland’s judges is not in question, a register of interests and more effective regulation must be applied, if Scots are to have any confidence in, or chance of a fair hearing where vested professional & personal interests may regularly collide with the public’s right of access to justice and a fair hearing in the Scottish courts.

However, it may come as no surprise to readers to learn Scotland’s judiciary are not alone in failing to keep a register of interests. The same is true for the judiciary of England & Wales, right up to judges at the UK’s Supreme Court, who maintain they do not require to keep a register of interests, yet as members of the House of Lords prior to the setting up of the Supreme Court, Law Lords did provide details in the House of Lords register of interests.

The UK Supreme Court’s stance on a register of interests is broadly the same as Scotland in that one is not required because the judges themselves have decided they need not declare their interests. The Supreme Court’s statement on a register of interests appears in an online document stating :

Prior to the creation of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the highest court in the UK was the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. The members of the Committee were Lords of Appeal in Ordinary appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. Although those appointments gave them full voting and other rights in the House of Lords, the Law Lords had for some years voluntarily excluded themselves from participating in the legislative work of the House. Notwithstanding that, they were bound by the rules of the House and provided entries for the House of Lords Register of Interests.

On the creation of the Supreme Court the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary became Justices of the Supreme Court. They retain their titles as Peers of the Realm, but are excluded by statute from sitting or voting in the House, for so long as they remain in office as Justices of the Supreme Court. As such, they are treated as Peers on leave of absence; and do not have entries in the House of Lords Register of Interests. Historical information remains accessible via the House of Lords website.

Other judges in the UK, such as the judges of the Court of Appeal and the High Court in England and Wales, and in Northern Ireland, and the Court of Session in Scotland, do not have a Register of Interests. Instead they are under a duty to declare any interest where a case comes before them where this is or might be thought to be the case.

Against this background the Justices have decided that it would not be appropriate or indeed feasible for them to have a comprehensive Register of Interests, as it would be impossible for them to identify all the interests, which might conceivably arise, in any future case that came before them. To draw up a Register of Interests, which people believed to be complete, could potentially be misleading. Instead the Justices of the Supreme Court have agreed a formal Code of Conduct by which they will all be bound, and which is now publicly available on the UKSC website.

In addition all the Justices have taken the Judicial Oath – and they all took it again on 1 October 2009 – which obliges them to “do right to all manner of people after the law and usages of this Realm without fear or favour, affection or ill will”; and, as is already the practice with all other members of the judiciary, they will continue to declare any interest which arises in the context of a particular case and, if necessary, recuse themselves from sitting in that case – whether a substantive hearing, or an application for permission to appeal.

It is in the public interest and the interests of justice that our judges be required by law to join all others in public office, paid for by the public purse, to register their interests and any hospitality received. This is clearly in the interests of transparency, accountability and can only serve to reassure court users that they can expect fair & equal treatment - something we should all be entitled to as of right.

Against this background the Justices have decided that it would not be appropriate or indeed feasible for them to have a comprehensive Register of Interests, as it would be impossible for them to identify all the interests, which might conceivably arise, in any future case that came before them. To draw up a Register of Interests, which people believed to be complete, could potentially be misleading. Instead the Justices of the Supreme Court have agreed a formal Code of Conduct by which they will all be bound, and which is now publicly available on the UKSC website.

After reading your other report about the Fiscal married to the alleged legal aid thief who got off being charged I am not surprised to learn there are links between judges & crooked law firms we need to know about

Just think about it for a second. A litigant is suing an insurance company over a medical injury, or a professional negligence case, and it turns out the judge has a financial stake in the insurance company being sued, or regularly goes out to dine with lawyers from the insurance company’s legal team or the lawyers who swindled the litigant, and quietly on the side receives hospitality from the same law firm the litigant is left to face in the court with no chance of success because the lawyers have the judge in their pockets and none of it is declared! BLOODY DISGUSTING!

Can anyone tell me what is wrong with a judge doing some tax dodging then going onto write a rule book for his lawyer buddies and screw a client trying to sue crooked lawyers he knows and then runs off to Thailand to invest in/bang a few young boys?If you are expecting any of that to be put in a register of interests I'd say forget it!BUT WE ALL KNOW ITS GOING ON NOW DONT WE!

A CIRCUIT judge who faced newspaper allegations of an affair with a rent boy has quit his post.

Judge Gerald Price QC, 61, of Cowbridge, hit the headlines last summer over claims he had a nine-month fling with Christopher Williams, 26, a male prostitute he met via the internet.

The judge, who presided over trials in Cardiff Crown Court, was said to have allowed Mr Williams to sit on the court bench with him as he sentenced criminals. The Office for Judicial Complaints has confirmed Mr Price’s resignation.

An inquiry recommended he should be sacked as a result of his conduct but he resigned after a failed appeal and before he could be dismissed.

According to a story in the News of the World last June, the married judge set Mr Williams up in a flat in Swansea and paid him £420 a month for what he described as a “sex season ticket”.

Mr Williams claims Mr Price contacted him via email and that they met and had sex in a room at the Days Inn hotel in the M4 Sarn Park services. Subsequently, they met at Mr Price’s second home near Carmarthen.

Mr Williams told the News of the World: “I sat on the bench next to Gerald for at least five days in Cardiff, three in Swansea and once in Carmarthen. Security knew who I was and I was never stopped or hindered. Gerald passed me off as a law student.

“I was also in his private chambers behind the courtroom. That’s where I caught sight of a lot of court files and criminal records – stuff only the judge and counsel should see.”

A former three-time Conservative parliamentary candidate, Mr Price became an Anglican lay preacher in 1969.

Mr Price presided over many prominent cases. He was the judge who made an order to seize every penny owned by brothel madam Julie Hyett, a policeman’s wife from Pembrey, and gave her a 15-month suspended jail term.

Mr Price has refused to discuss the matter with the media, saying his privacy is being invaded and insisting through his lawyers that there is no public interest in the matter.

A spokeswoman for the Office for Judicial Complaints said: “Gerald Price QC, a Circuit Judge who was appointed to the Wales Circuit in 2000, has resigned from judicial office following an investigation into allegations about his conduct originally published in the media in June 2009.

“While the media reported a number of allegations against Judge Price, the judicial investigation only focused on those that had an impact on his role as a judge. The investigation found that his actions brought the judiciary into disrepute, rendering his position untenable.

“In the light of the investigation, the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice informed the judge in December 2009 that they considered his behaviour merited removal from office.

“In accordance with the judicial discipline regulations, Judge Price was entitled to ask for their decision to be reviewed by a Review Body panel. He did so and the panel was chaired by Lady Justice Smith. The panel agreed with the original decision of the Lord Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor and recommended that Judge Price should be removed from office. The judge has, however, resigned before the disciplinary process was formally concluded. His resignation took effect from June 30, 2010.”

The spokeswoman said the panel’s report would not be disclosed as it was considered confidential to the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor.

Mr Price remains a QC, but is not listed in the public directory of practising barristers maintained by the Bar Council, the regulatory body for barristers.

When asked whether any action had been taken or was contemplated against Mr Price, a spokeswoman for the Bar Council would only say: “The Bar Council is unable to comment on individual cases.”

How many judges are there in Scotland anyway?Over 100?I dont believe you can get 100 people without at least one of them being a bad apple these days its just impossible the way people's values & standards have slipped.Also who chooses the judges anyway?Its lawyers and the judges themselves.No accountability no openness nothing and no register of interests!

I like this.It must be good because the judges said no.Who are they to say no register of interests is required from them?They are getting enough of our money to sit on cases which FREQUENTLY END UP GOING AGAINST THE REST OF US!

Against this background the Justices have decided that it would not be appropriate or indeed feasible for them to have a comprehensive Register of Interests, as it would be impossible for them to identify all the interests, which might conceivably arise, in any future case that came before them. To draw up a Register of Interests, which people believed to be complete, could potentially be misleading.

I have news for you Mr Supreme Court Judge.Many in public life already disclose their interests and hospitality by law.It is not "impossible" to list all interests when the will and the law is there to make it happen.You will know all about the law therefore do like the rest of us and declare your interests.

"There are concerns similar relationships between members of the judiciary and law firms, lawyers & advocates may well exist in Scotland and may have had an effect particularly on some cases where members of the legal profession and even the Law Society of Scotland itself has faced legal action in the courts."

I think this is a given Peter.It just cannot be all those cases involving lawyers get screwed up in the courts.Just like that failure to prosecute the 14 crooked lawyers who stole the legal aid the numbers of times lawyers get off in court from stealing is amazing and does not happen by accident.

Time to bring the judiciary into the real world so we know what they are up to.

After reading your other report about the Fiscal married to the alleged legal aid thief who got off being charged I am not surprised to learn there are links between judges & crooked law firms we need to know about

One thing stood out a mile.Everyone there including the judge hated my guts and wanted to see the back of me.Case was adjourned and my lawyer refused to go back in unless I accepted the offered settlement half of which the bastard took for his own fees.

To all of you who think you can win against a lawyer remember the guy in the wig at the top table is not your friend.More like your enemy.

Make them declare all their interests just as you say Mr Cherbi.Who knows what will come out but it can only be good.

If MPs used that argument about not having to fill in register of interests they'd sell us down the river in a minute (although they do that anyway) so bring the judges into line with everyone else.They are NOT special even though they believe themselves to be.

No one is above the law isnt that right and what applies to one is supposed to apply to all!

Just think about it for a second. A litigant is suing an insurance company over a medical injury, or a professional negligence case, and it turns out the judge has a financial stake in the insurance company being sued, or regularly goes out to dine with lawyers from the insurance company’s legal team or the lawyers who swindled the litigant, and quietly on the side receives hospitality from the same law firm the litigant is left to face in the court with no chance of success because the lawyers have the judge in their pockets and none of it is declared! BLOODY DISGUSTING!=============================Doctors lawyers accountants surveyors employers all insured by Royal Sun Alliance. Lawyers take on cases against these people but as they are all paying premiums to the insurance company you are claiming against you get three years torture, they get three years legal aid and your damages amount to £0.00. They are an evil network, avoid them at all costs.

If your employer has injured you, they will cover it up. This is why there is NEVER any medical evidence against an employer for occupational injury and why the Law Society is trying to shut down solicitorsfromhell.co.uk because there is a warning on that site see

I like the New Zealand Law Commission's idea of extending it to "all officials whose positions give them sufficient potential to influence the outcome of a case, whether as a result of a bribe or other improper influence"

You'd never get anyone here suggesting something like this (maybe you?)

Good to see people agree with it.Actually its so obvious we need it there should be action right away.

There are even cases of some members of Scotland’s judiciary using relationships with Police Officers to further their own professional interests outside of their judicial role, and also in some cases, members of the judiciary have used Police Officers to harass opponents of their private law firm’s high profile clients anxious their double lives are kept from the media & public’s prying eyes.

Do you mean high profile lawyers anxious details of their habits etc dont end up on the front pages of the tabloids.

Michael Moore Come to Scotland with your megaphone at the Law Society please
said...

It would be nice to see someone like Michael Moore of Capitalism A love Story fame standing outside the Law society of Scotland, (as he did Wall Street) with his crime scene tapes calling "this is a citizens arrest to the mendacious bastards in the Law Society" come out and pay for your crimes against the Scottish people.

A good video for U Tube because Salmond, MacAskill and the press are kissing lawyers posteriors. Well Michael you are welcome to do a story on the Scottish Legal Establishment if you have the time?

A stupid decision from the judiciary to refuse to participate in a register of interests.Even if they are not crooked they look even more so now and with all due respect the two paragraphs of bilge in the "Statement of Ethics" don't cut it Lord Hamilton.

Horrific.Really.The story of the sauna sheriff made me sick to my stomach.How many more like him in the judiciary?What a horrible bunch of people there are no words I can think of to accurately describe how I feel about it.I will pray for people who are denied justice in Scotland at their judges hands.

THE LAW SOCIETIES ARE FROM HELL, CORRUPT, BLINDED BY HATRED FOR CLIENTS, WHAT THEY REGARD AS UNTERMENSCHEN (SUBHUMANS) TO BE ABUSED FOR PROFIT. EVIL UNACCOUNTABLE AND RUTHLESS, REMINDS ME OF THE NAZI'S BECAUSE THE ONLY REASON THE LAW SOCIETIES WOULD NO EXTERMINATE CLIENTS IS BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT EXPLOIT THEM ANY MORE.

A charity administrator who took more than £70,000 from a fund for sick children has been described as a "heartless fraudster" after he was jailed for 15 months.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed Howard Rose, 63, was jailed at York Crown Court after he admitted stealing £76,040 from the Yorkshire Children's Hospital Trust.

Rose, 63, of Earswick, York, was the trust's administrator.

Police said he used his position to divert funds which charities had donated to the trust to his personal bank account using false invoices. Rose used headed paper bearing the charities' logos to cover up his wrongdoing and used the money he stole to pay off his debts.

Detectives discovered Rose had been taking money for almost three years, between June 1, 2007, and May 31, 2010.

A force spokesman described him as a "heartless fraudster".

Detective Sergeant Garry Ridler, of North Yorkshire Police's major fraud team, said: "Howard Rose abused his role within the trust for his own personal gain, without sparing a thought for the children he was supposed to be helping.

"He stole funds which people had donated for the care of sick children and for that he fully deserves the sentence he has been given. He now has time to reflect on the major breach of trust which he should be ashamed of, considering the length of time in which he had been taking what amounted to a substantial amount of money.

"Anyone who thinks they can get away with deception on this scale is mistaken. The police will thoroughly investigate and you will be brought to justice."

Yorkshire Children's Hospital Trust works to provide equipment to help paediatric services in the region.============================Bad boy Howard, if you were a lawyer screwing legal aid there would not have been enough ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE.

A "heartless fraudster", ah reminds me of the Law Societies membership.

As we have been reporting for years Legal aid is the golden goose of the legal mafia. They have been stealing decent men's livelihoods in civil courts to prop up the criminal lawyers making a fortune from defending their serial criminal thug pals

Fourten lawyers reported after being accused of fiddling Legal Aid - but not one prosecution.

Given that their own conduct and propriety or otherwise is central to their job function;

Give them 1 month to register all interests and to declare all unlawful acts committed by or being committed by them.

Failure to fully comply will result in immediate cessation of all salary, allowances and expenses, whilst police carry-out necessary investigations.

If the Police find out that either they have not declared something or have lied, then they should be sacked/prosecuted with no possibility to retire before hand with no entitlement to a fat-cat pension.

Under this full disclosure, all mis-deeds should be made public to make an example of the individuals and to act as a deterrent for the future and to ensure that the Scottish Judiciary is a truly found to be a paragon of justice, instead of being glibly called this by the self gratifying,incestious and unnaccountable legal elite.

We spent all afternoon debating how dangerous Cherbi's exposure of legal aid fraud is to the rest of us. The conclusion was "very dangerous".What will you do if more solicitors stand in front of trains to get out of being prosecuted?==================================From the clients side all lawyers are very dangerous. Any who stand in front of trains cease to be dangerous.

There was an American judge who was quite properly jailed recently(see below), but such conflicts of interest don't happen here, or do they? There's only one way to be sure, a Public Register Of Interests.

"After more than 10 years of allegedly sending youths to private prisons in exchange for around $1 million in kickbacks, former Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Judge Mark Ciavarella was sentenced to 28 years in prison — essentially a life sentence for the 61-year-old convicted criminal.

In February, a jury found Ciavarella guilty on 12 counts of everything from conspiracy and racketeering to money laundering and tax evasion. Another 27 counts, including bribery and extortion, were rejected by jurors.

The federal charges stemmed from Ciavarella’s involvement in a criminal plot to fill up privately owned juvenile-detention facilities. According to prosecutors, he was handing out wildly inappropriate sentences to first-time offenders and even children as young as 10.

Some of the crimes for which children were being jailed by Ciavarella included stealing a jar of nutmeg and countless first-time drug paraphernalia charges. One teenage girl was sentenced to three months for making fun of a school official on the Internet.

Another teenager sent to a correctional facility by Ciavarella later killed himself, which the family blames on the corrupt former judge...."

I wouldnt be surprised if some of these judges are getting property on the cheap from some of those lawyers appearing in front of them.After all the repo market is full of crooks and lawyers who buy up the lot and let it out or distro it among their friends for favours

The public prosecuters at the Crown Office have two policies on prosecution.

A non lawyer will face the courts for Legal Aid fraud.

14 Lawyers over six years, no court proceedings.

A country with a system like this has corrupt institutions, it proves one fact internationally. It is not a justice system, it is an oligarchy, of judges, lawyers politicians and insurance companies.

All of you lawyers out there, rights are only available when someone can enforce rights. This proves that even in a democratic country, powerful factions can create a line of difference where all are not equal before the law. It is foolish indeed to believe that everyone is free in a democratic country. If the state actors are corrupt, any outcome can be engineered.

If the legal profession is as rotten as I think it is the judiciary will have their own problems too.After all judges are lawyers promoted to the bench.There is not one judge in Scotland who has not been a lawyer.FACT.

As many of you agree with the idea a register of hospitality & interests for the judiciary should exist, I believe a campaign on this issue is in order ... more to come soon.

Some comments have not been published, due to the detail offered regarding specific cases which I would like to cover in further more in-depth articles for readers consideration.

With regard to one comment which identified a particular judge and a relationship with a law firm, please could the person contact me via scottishlawreporters@gmail.com. Such a case is suited to a headline or two.

Rather than Scotland owing myself a debt, I would prefer to say Scotland owes its victims of injustice a great debt, but as we see, the legal establishment of Scotland appear to enjoy holding people in a state of injustice, and go on to cause more every day ...

Self regulating judges are as crooked as self regulating lawyers now we know it for sure.So much for all that rubbish about no attempts to bribe judges in Scotland and the UK.What a joke!Its going on all the time just like with politicians!

Another teenager sent to a correctional facility by Ciavarella later killed himself, which the family blames on the corrupt former judge...."==================================These legal people, evil incarnate, no values whatsoever.

Lord Hamilton can give good speeches but it seems his colleagues are not listening.

Also to mention words like ethics and Scotland in the same sentence well its just not on because there are no bloody ethics in Scotland certainly not in the courts not in government not in politics and not in the legal profession.

Has anyone ever noticed all these supposedly independent enquiries led by these judges who dont want to declare their interests ending up not apportioning blame to the culprits of whatever disaster crime corruption or medical blunder took out a few of the population?

This hostile attitude by the judiciary towards the rest of us is yet again more evidence none of them can be trusted.

A good posting as ever Peter although I have to say I am not surprised.

As far as I am concerned and I think a great many people share the same view the entire justice system is rotten to the core including lawyers the police and courts and now they are busy taking everyones houses away from them and guess who gets to buy them on the cheap yes its the same scum in the justice system or the bankers who took the case to court.

Why ordinary people tolerate this I dont know alas they must have a lot more courage in North Africa to protest against their lives being ruined by scum like this than we do.Sad.

Its not too difficult to see where the judges allegiances lie - you just need to look at the courts website and the judgements to see who they usually side with and it certainly aint the small man!Funny how the Law Society have never successfully been sued for ruining the lives of clients and barring them from justice as we see in case after case isnt it?

I'd also like to draw to your attention the amazing coincidence that anyone who has exposed the judiciary and the legal profession in Scotland has from one or more of the following either

1.Died unexplained2.Been murdered3.Lost their job4.Lost their home5.Lost their family6.Been run out of Scotland7.Been fitted up on a false charge and jailed8.Endured daily visits from bent cops to persecute them9.Lost everything10.Committed suicide

and these are not just the clients who were ruined because there are a few journos who suffered the same not counting the ones who were bought off by the legal mafia

Very fishy isnt it

Just who is going round killing off the critics of lawyers and getting away with it I wonder??

An excellent debate for the entire UK however I notice politicians are conspicuous by their absence from this register of interests for judges idea.Just why is it MPs disappear when needed for issues like this?

Is it because they are too busy milking tv license payers for appearance fees on the BBC?

MPs paid thousands to appear on the BBC: As Corporation cuts back, politicians are given licence fee cash to go on TV and radio

MPs are being handed thousands of pounds of licence fee money simply to appear on the BBC.

The cash is being doled out to politicians for guest slots on shows where they do little more than promote themselves or their party.

Exposed for the first time in a week when the Corporation announced swingeing cuts that will leave BBC2 a channel of repeats, the practice allows MPs to receive ‘disturbance payments’ on top of expenses when they take part in programmes such as Any Questions? or Have I Got News For You.

Senior politicians including Diane Abbott, Hilary Benn, Sir Menzies Campbell and Caroline Flint have enjoyed being paid to turn up on panel shows, according to research conducted on the parliamentary register of members’ financial interests.

It proves the BBC has become a money-spinner for the political classes.

One of the most lucrative shows is Have I Got News For You, which can attract a fee of £1,500, but BBC2’s Cash in the Attic – currently under threat of being axed – once paid Miss Abbott £1,000 for an appearance.

Interesting the Crown Office and I presume the Scottish Court Service knew about Lothian all along yet chose to do nothing.I wouldn't be surprised if there are others up to the same.I imagine some time was expended trying to cover up the story until it became too well known as is usual in these types of cases.

Has anyone bothered to check cases he sat on and his judgements during the time his bosses knew what he was up to?

Same applies to any in the same circumstances.

I think you know what I am getting at so I'll leave you to your investigations and look forward to reading more.

Ultimately the judiciary could stop most of the injustice happening in Scotland but they do not and frequently side with the ones who are causing it.They are not stupid they know exactly what is going on in many of the cases before them yet time after time ordinary people who have been ripped off by legal thugs,banks,dodgy accountants etc are shown the door with a wasted time in court where they get nowhere while the crook gets off the hook.

To any of members of the judiciary reading this comment ITS OBVIOUS WHAT YOU ARE DOING YOU DO NOT RESPECT THE PEOPLE AT ALL

The Catholic Church in Scotland has stepped up its campaign against proposals to allow gay marriage.

The Archbishop of Glasgow, Mario Conti, has written to every parish in Scotland, urging all Catholics to oppose the planned legislation.

He said the Scottish government did not have a mandate to "reconstruct society on ideological grounds".================================Mario, I watched a TV programme called Homosexuality in the Catholic Church, where men left the diocese because they were gay.

It amazes me that a church that has paid out vast sums of money for the conduct of paedophile priests can have any moral standing. What right does the Church of Rome have to lecture decent Catholics? A church like this does NOT FEAR GOD.

Catholicism, like any other ism, is an ideology a system of beliefs that tells us why we are here (God created us) and has a plan of action (to increase the power of the church) keep you in your job. I always find it strange how men who are meant to celibate think they have a right to lecture all of us.

If men and women were all celibate the human condition of death would wipe out the human race. Do not lecture us, get your own church in order by prosecuting paedophile priests not by cannon law (which is self regulation) but by the legislatures in the countries where abuse has happened.

This fog which exists around the judges over what they get up to and their interests has to go.They are doing a job paid for by the public therefore we have a right to know what their interests are and hospitality they are getting all laid out in a register like everyone else.

A LAWYER has been accused of trying to smuggle cannabis into one of Scotland's toughest jails.

Police swooped on solicitor David Blair-Wilson after guards at Saughton prison, Edinburgh, raised the alarm.

Blair-Wilson was arrested and charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act after police searched a car in the prison car park on Thursday.

He was quizzed at St Leonard's police office in the capital where he complained of chest pains.

He was then transferred to the city's Royal Infirmary where he was held under police guard, though he has since left hospital.

A police spokesman said: "A search was carried out of a vehicle within the prison car park and drugs and other items associated with organised crime were seized.

"We continue to gather intelligence on organised criminals - including those serving time in prison - and will act on any information relating to illegal activities."

Blair-Wilson was found guilty of professional misconduct by Law Society chiefs eight years ago after numerous complaints.

He was given a 10-year ban, preventing him working with legal transactions of a financial nature.

He avoided being struck off but was ordered to work under supervision for 10 years. One client accused Blair-Wilson of giving false information on his behalf to a court while another said he misled him. A clinical psychologist and legal assistant accused him of failing to pay fees they were owed.

Blair-Wilson failed to respond to the Law Society's concerns and ignored repeated demands to hand over his accounts.

He was previously a criminal law specialist and worked for Nigel Beaumont & Co in Edinburgh. Since qualifying as a lawyer in 1982, he has worked for nine different law firms. He now works for Edinburgh solicitor Massimo D'Alvito.

Mr D'Alvito said: "I didn't know anything about this. It came as a shock to me."

"It is in the public interest and the interests of justice that our judges be required by law to join all others in public office, paid for by the public purse, to register their interests and any hospitality received. This is clearly in the interests of transparency, accountability and can only serve to reassure court users that they can expect fair & equal treatment - something we should all be entitled to as of right."

The link between corrupt judges & corrupt Police Officers is not restricted to Scotland.In any country you will get crooked cops eager to please judges by doing a few favours I've seen it for myself.I think you Scots need to rethink your judiciary and how it goes about its business.

Judges in their own cause. The reason the Scottish Legal System is so badly corrupt is because it is a closed system.

They are absolutely all powerful and unaccountable.

I'm all for maintaining the independence of the Judiciary but I would have them monitored and scrutinised by members of the public who took on the job for a short fixed term and who were chosen at random (like Jury Duty). They would serve their public duty and be responsible for holding Public Officials to account.

1. Lord Strathclyde £10m - Leader of the House of Lords, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

The 2nd Baron Strathclyde, more normally addressed as Tom, is wealthy even by the aristocratic standards of the Lords. The half-Belgian peer owns a lucrative slice of his family’s estate management company, Auchendrane Estates, has numerous private directorships and a £2.3million house in Westminster.

2. Philip Hammond £7.5m - Secretary of State for Transport

Hammond had been expected to take the No2 position at the Treasury until the coalition agreement was struck, but there is little need for him to make personal economies. His stake in property company Castlemead has been estimated to be worth up to £6million in shares and dividends. He also co-owns a £1million house in Westminster and a £400,000 home in Woking, Surrey.

3. George Osborne £4.6m - Chancellor of the Exchequer

The youngest Chancellor for more than a century holds a £2million stake in his father’s luxury wallpaper company, Osborne & Little, and lives in a £2million family home in London’s Notting Hill. His constituency property in Tatton adds another £600,000.

Hunt, a lambada-dancing party high-flier, owns a stake in the educational publisher Hotcourses estimated at nearly £3million. He also owns a property in Surrey, a house in Hammersmith, West London, and a half-share of a holiday home in Italy.

5. David Cameron £4m - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service

The PM and his wife both come from wealthy backgrounds and enjoy substantial property assets of their own: their London home has been valued at £2.7million and their constituency house at £1million. Mrs Cameron’s work as the creative director of Smythson, the upmarket stationers, earned her a £300,000 bonus. Both are in line to inherit fortunes from their parents: the combined wealth of the Camerons’ parents has been put as high as £30million.

This is probably one of the best ideas I've heard for a long time and congratulations to the New Zealanders who are brave and honest enough to take this forward.Its a pity we dont have politicians of this ilk in Scotland although at least we have Mr C to keep the legal mafia in check!

This is surely more than a little off topic. That said, you may wish to reflect on the fact that the Church of England is currently being broken apart over the issue of homosexual clery and Brian Souter's independent poll has overwhelmingly confirmed that the vast majority of people in Scotland were against the repeal of Clause 64.

This register of interests should be made now without any delay and Lord Hamilton's excuses tossed out the window.Same goes for the Supreme Court and the rest of the judiciary.DECLARE YOUR INTERESTS AND HOSPITALITY

Well Peter I hope this goes through and we finally get to see how these judges live instead of as someone else said this veil of secrecy around them which is not proper and as Lord Hamilton should know himself not in the interests of justice or transparency.

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Crown Corrupt - Prosecutors criminal convictions revealed

Exclusive Report: Documents obtained by the Scottish Sun newspaper reveal Prosecutors based at Scotland’s Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) have been charged with a string of criminal offences over crimes ranging from violence to misuse of drugs, making threats and offences against Police Officers.

Crown Office Jet Set Prosecutors air travel junkets revealed

Exclusive Report: Prosecutors based in Edinburgh at the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) - are now spending as much time in the air jetting between international destinations than chasing some of Scotland’s biggest crooks, tax dodgers, gangsters & serial offenders.

Documents obtained by the Scottish Sun newspaper show Lord Advocate, Frank Mulholland and his team of staff jetting off to 39 international destinations including Hong Kong, Mauritius, Taiwan South Africa, Australia, Malta, San Francisco, and New York – all visited by Crown Office employees on taxpayer funded air junkets. Read more here: CRIME FLIES: Crown Office jet set junket racket

The proposals, backed by cross party MSPs during a debate in the Parliament’s main chamber on 9 October 2014 - Debating the Judges - call for the creation of a publicly available register of judicial interests containing information on judges backgrounds, their personal wealth, undeclared earnings, business & family connections inside & outside of the legal profession, offshore investments, hospitality, details on recusals and other information routinely lodged in registers of interest across all walks of public life in the UK and around the world.

UK consumers want independent regulation of lawyers

Media Report: RESEARCH conducted by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) – the body charged with investigating solicitors in England & Wales, shows there is strong support in the rest of the UK for a move to make the SRA fully independent of the Law Society of England & Wales.

Law & Disorder - Law Society self regulation protects solicitors

Crime Society: The powerful Law Society of Scotland – the lawyer’s trade union body which controls self regulation of Scottish solicitors – is facing calls to be stripped of any role in regulating the legal profession.

The Scottish Sun’s The Big Read: Law and disorder reports: CRITICS are calling for an end to the secretive “old boys’ club” which sees Scots lawyers police themselves. It took the Law Society of Scotland four years to give police details of its probe into an alleged mortgage fraud linked to solicitor Christopher Hales and MP Michelle Thomson. But legal experts insist this would not have happened if we had the same system of outside supervision that operates down south.

A new Lord President: Selecting a top judge for Scotland

The position of Lord President – with a salary of £220,655 a year, including perks, international travel and unrivalled power to challenge even the Scottish Parliament - is responsible for leadership of the entire Scottish judiciary in addition to chairing the Board of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. The Lord President is the most senior judge in Scotland, with authority over any court established under Scots law, apart from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

In response to questions from MSPs, JCR Gillian Thompson said: “I do not see that there is a reasonable argument to be made against people who are in public service—I might go further and say, in particular, people who are paid by the public pound—providing information, within reason, about their other activities.” Facing further detailed questions from the committee, JCR Gillian Thompson remained of the view judges should declare their interests including business activities, shareholdings and more – in a publicly available register of judicial interests.

Scotland's first Judicial Complaints Reviewer supports creating a register of interests for judges

The top judge came unstuck after he opposed the declaration of judicial interests, wealth & connections to big business. Prior to retirement, Gill waged a bitter two year battle with Scottish Parliament MSPs who are investigating proposals to create a register of judicial interests.

Wolffe Hall: Parliament House land titles lost to Faculty of Advocates

Media Report: Aninvestigation has revealedParliament House – the seat of power for Scotland’s judiciary and the nation’s highest, most expensive, elusive and pro-big business courts – has been lost to Edinburgh City Council after it was revealed Scottish Ministers gifted the land titles to the Faculty of Advocates after a £58m public funded refit of the sprawling court complex. Media attention to the land grab and questions in the Scottish Parliament have prompted Edinburgh City Council to demand the courts be returned to public ownership.

In a speech to the Commonwealth Law Conference 2015 in Glasgow, Lord Gill went on to joke about protesters being lucky they are not dragged away by Police. Gill took further shots at politics, judicial independence and democracy before fleeing the legal gathering with Lord Neuberger and other judges after they learned Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was booked to speak at the event.

Revealed: The bank of Scottish Legal Aid

Revealed: TIMES ARE TOUGH but not for Scotland’s legal profession as it was revealed the Scottish Legal Aid Board handed over more than One Billion Pounds of public money to lawyers since the 2008 financial market crash. The Billion pound Bank of Scottish Legal Aid is there to help out Scotland’s ‘struggling’ lawyers looking for a second car, fishing rights, sending kids to posh private schools, or a third buy-to-let property. Scottish Legal Aid figures paid to lawyers since 2008 reveal: 2013-14 £150.5m, 2012-13 £150.2m, 2011-12 £150.7m, 2010-11 £161.4m, 2009-10 £150.5m, 2008-09 £150.2m, 2007-08 £155.1m, total: £1.06Billion (£1,068.6m)

Scottish Parliament debate urges support for register of judicial interests

Media ReportMSPs overwhelmingly support a petition urging the Scottish Government to give further consideration to a register of interests for judges. The 90 minute debate, held on Thursday 09 October 2014 in the Scottish Parliament’s main chamber saw msps criticise Scotland’s secretive judges who refuse to disclose their hidden wealth, secret links to big business and even criminal records. Read more about the proposals for judicial transparency put forward in Petition PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland's judiciary and watch video clips of MSPs debating a register of interests for judges at InjusticeTV. The official report of the debate including video footage of each MSP who spoke can be found here: Debating the Judges

Revealed: Judges International travel junkets & state visits

Exclusive Report: JET-SETTING judges spent £26,000 of taxpayers' cash on overseas trips last year, a Scottish Sun on Sunday investigation can reveal. Top beaks flew out to destinations including Russia, Israel, Switzerland, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Qatar. The most expensive was a £5,800 trip to Canada by Scotland's second most senior judge, Lord Carloway. Lord Gill - who is the Lord President - also spent five days on a £2,800 trip to Doha, Qatar, where he gave speech on judicial ethics.

Judicial Rich-List reveals Judges financial links to crime companies

Exclusive Report: DISCLOSURES of judges personal shareholdings obtained under Freedom of Information legislation from the Scottish Court Service reveal a startling snapshot of the wealth of several key members of Scotland’s judiciary who sit on a powerful quango which controls Scotland’s courts. The declarations of the seven judicial members of the Scottish Court Service Board – including Scotland's top judge, the Lord President & Lord Justice General Brian Gill who earns £220K a year - reveal judges benefit financially from shareholdings in companies who provide services to the courts & justice system, companies convicted of criminal offences & involvement in ‘industrial’ espionage against China, banks fined for international financial market manipulation, and companies involved in bribes, bid rigging, and tax dodging.

Revealed: Top judge forced to recuse over relative in court

Exclusive Report: SCOTLAND’S top judge, the Lord President Lord Brian Gill has been forced to stand aside from hearing an unidentified case in the Court of Session because a relative who turned out to be Brian Gill jr, one of Lord Gill’s sons, represented a party involved in the court action which court officials are keeping secret.

Judge invests in bribes scandal companies

Exclusive Report: An investigation by the Scottish Sun on Sunday newspaper has revealed a top judge holds shares in a firm hit with a £13.9million proceeds-of-crime bill for bribing Saddam Hussein's regime,The Scottish Sun on Sunday can reveal. Sheriff Principal Alastair Dunlop 62, has a stake in Glasgow based Weir Group, hammered in 2011 for paying kickbacks to land contracts in Iraq. He also has shares in mining giant Rio Tinto, whose executives admitted bribery in China four years ago. A Holyrood committee is considering proposals that would require judges and sheriffs to publish their outside interests, including details of their finances, reported here: A Register of Interests for Scotland's Judiciary

Judges reveal conflicts of interest

Exclusive Report: The Sunday Mail newspaper reports Scotland's judges are coming clean when they have to step away from court cases because of a conflict of interests. Scotland’s top judge has decided that for the first time the public can see online why judges and sheriffs have stood down from hearing criminal trials and civil actions. It comes after the Sunday Mail told of MSPs' anger that the Lord President Lord Gill had dismissed calls for a judicial register of interests and snubbed invitations to discuss his position at a Holyrood committee, reported in previous coverage here: A Register of Interests for Scotland's Judiciary

Judges interests & shareholdings revealed

Exclusive Report: An investigation by the Sunday Herald newspaper reveals a senior sheriff presided over a court hearing involving Tesco at the same time as he held shares in the multi-national supermarket giant. Sheriff Principal Dunlop QC did not absent himself because having shares in a company that is party to a court action does not require a member of the judiciary to step down from a case. A Holyrood committee is considering proposals that would require judges and sheriffs to publish their outside interests, including details of their finances, reported in previous coverage here: A Register of Interests for Scotland's Judiciary

Top judge in private meeting on judicial transparency petition

Media Report: Top judge Lord Gill met petitions committee members behind closed doors to discuss Petition PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland's judiciary and conflict of interests, but no minutes were taken. The Sunday Mail reports Scotland’s top judge met two MSPs in private after twice snubbing requests to give evidence in front of their committee. The judge is opposed to the transparency call and has previously refused invitations to attend the Scottish Parliament and face questions in public on his opposition to judicial transparency and the creation of a register of judicial interests. More on the debate on judge’s interests can be viewed here : A Register of Interests for Scotland's Judiciary

Small concession offered by top judge as calls grow for judicial transparency

Judges should not be above scrutiny

Media Editorial: The Sunday Herald newspaper says in an editorial Judges should not be above scrutiny. The Lord President, who is the country's top judge, is against requiring his colleagues to list their financial interests (as called for in Petition PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland's judiciary) but he seems to have recognised political concerns about a lack of transparency.To this end, he is investigating the possibility of compiling a register of "recusals", which means examples of judges ceasing an interest in a court case due to a perceived conflict. More on the debate on judge’s interests can be viewed here : A Register of Interests for Scotland's Judiciary

Scotland’s top judge takes anti-transparency position on proposal for judicial interests register

Lack of judicial transparency - No justice if it cannot be seen

Media Editorial: The Sunday Mail newspaper says Senior judge's refusal to give evidence to MSPs shows a lack of transparency, says Mail Opinion on calls for judicial transparency in Petition PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland's judiciary. It was an opportunity for Scotland’s top judge to go to Parliament and talk about how our legal system works and might work better. It would have added, as the public relations executives and politicians like to say, a little transparency. Instead, his refusal has only hardened the suspicion that our judges live and work in a bubble smelling of horse hair wigs, vintage port and even more vintage attitudes. More on the debate on judge’s interests can be viewed here : A Register of Interests for Scotland's Judiciary

NEWS SPECIAL: Coverage of the Annual Report 2012-2013 of Scotland’s Judicial Complaints Reviewer reveals Scottish judges are slammed for secrecy, anti-transparency views & how they investigate complaints against other judges.Moi Ali, appointed by the SNP’s Justice Secretary as Scotland’s first Judicial Complaints Reviewersaid: “I think fundamentally the problem is the legislation. “The way it’s created, it’s about self- regulation so you have judges judging judges’ conduct. There isn’t really an independent element.”. Read more HERE

REVEALED : Scotland’s Judicial Complaints Reviewer gave evidence to MSPs at the Scottish Parliament stating her office has no powers to properly investigate complaints against Scottish judges and that the judicial office regularly block access to files and information relating to complaints. In England & Wales, it is done very differently. Read more HERE

EXCLUSIVE REPORT: Scotland’s judiciary are refusing to cooperate with the independently appointed Judicial Complaints Reviewer over complaints made against Scottish judges. Scotland’s top judge also stands accused of regularly blocking independent access to key documents relating to allegations made against judges. Read more HERE

Scotland's top judge objects to Holyrood transparency call for a register of judicial interests

Exclusive Report : Scotland’s top judge Lord Gill claims judges are exempt from declaring their full financial & other interests as called for in Petition PE1458: Register of Interests for members of Scotland's judiciary A register could be created by the Scottish Parliament or by the Judicial Office for Scotland, which incorporates the Lord President’s office. Typically, such registers reveal details of hospitality, gifts, property ownership, shareholdings and personal or financial connections to outside organisations.

If you think Scotland's judges are honest, think again. An investigation reveals the true extent of their undeclared finances & interests. Read more HERE. Investigations have revealed Scotland's Judges have secret criminal records, massive wealth, unchecked influence, & murky investments along with connections to offshore tax havens, all of which go undeclared as there is no register of interests for the judiciary.

Business Interests: Are Scottish Judges overseas trips really just about law conferences?

Exclusive Report: Scotland's judges have racked up thousands of air miles on overseas trips, including jaunts to the US, India, Morocco and Malaysia. Taxpayers paid £83,644 to send judges and sheriffs and their partners around the world in the past three years revealed in this document. The Lord President also travels to Taiwan, South Africa & other countries yet refuses to travel 700m to the Scottish Parliament to face MSPs questions about judges’ secret undeclared interests.

Exclusive Report : A report published by the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice reveals Scottish lawyers take home a lavish £161million in legal aid payments on a tiny client base compared to other EU countries’ lawyers. The EU REPORT also shows that Scotland disciplines a tiny number of lawyers compared to countries of similar size, and that Scotland’s sheriffs & judges top the EU pay league. A large proportion of alleged criminals reported to prosecutors in Scotland are also escaping justice while lawyers scoop up legal aid fees for dealing with cases which never make it to court.

EU Justice Report : Scots Justice System is most expensive, has poorest regulation in Europe

A MUST READ REPORT by the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice reveals the Scottish justice system as the most unproductive, yet most expensive in the entire European Union. Scottish lawyers take tens of millions more in legal aid representing a population of 5 million than Italian lawyers who serve a population of 60 million. The report also reveals Scots judges are paid the highest in Europe, Scottish Sheriffs taking home an average taxpayer funded salary of £120K plus, while others in Scotland’s judiciary are paid £200K plus expenses.

The Scottish Civil Courts Review of 2009 authored by the then Lord Justice Clerk, now Lord President Lord Brian Gill, castigated Scotland’s Civil Justice System as being Victorian, costly, and unfit for purpose, yet years on from the review, little of the proposed reforms have been implemented due to pressure from vested interests in the legal world, and a lack of political will to deliver access to justice to all Scots.

The ‘independent’ lawyer run Scottish Legal Complaints Commission has lurched from scandal to scandal, and proved to be even worse at regulating complaints against Scottish solicitors than the Law Society of Scotland. Clients of Scottish solicitors who are forced to make complaints to the SLCC should read our previous reports on how the anti-client regulator may treat their case.

Exclusive Report: A Research Report from the University of Manchester School of Law, commissioned by the SLCC on the Law Society of Scotland’s two discredited client compensation schemes, the Master Insurance Policy & Scottish Solicitors Guarantee Fund reveals the extent of suicides, illness, broken families and financial ruin among clients who fall victim to rogue solicitors and attempt financial claims in order to recover funds & assets embezzled or stolen by their lawyers. The research report concludes the Law Society's Master Policy is set up “to allow solicitors to sleep at night”, so they can go on to ruin other unsuspecting clients. Read the full shocking story HERE

Name & Shame your crooked lawyer in the media

If you are making a complaint to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC), Law Society of Scotland or Faculty of Advocates about your solicitor or legal representatives, one of the best things you can do is tell the media about it & name your crooked lawyer.

Revealed: Suspended & Bankrupt lawyers are secretly still working in Scotland

Exclusive Report: An investigation has revealed twice suspended but still working as a solicitor John G O'Donnell has impersonated a deceased lawyer as part of an elaborate fraud, while staff at the law firm he worked at said nothing to clients. The Law Society of Scotland did nothing to prevent O’Donnell continuing his reign of scams against clients even after he was twice suspended & made bankrupt. O’Donnell was only found out after one of his clients, saw his photograph in an earlier Sunday Mail newspaper investigation..

Exclusive Report: An investigation has revealed a lawyer who works for the Citizens Advice Bureau is being probed after it’s claimed he targeted vulnerable clients for a crooked legal firm. A client involved in a rent dispute turned to CAB lawyer Gilbert Anderson, who is based at Hamilton Sheriff Court on a taxpayer funded salary. But the ex-Royal Marine sent the client and a friend into the clutches of twice suspended solicitor John G O'Donnell , who does not have a practicing certificate.

BONUS CULTURE of Crown Office fails to deliver justice

An investigation reveals Scotland’s Prosecutors have been caught up in their own BONUS CULTURE where fat cash hand-outs at the end of the year worth tens of thousands of pounds and sly Press Releases short on facts seem to be more important than catching real crooks and delivering on protecting the Scots public.

One of Scotland’s most famous Crooked Lawyers, Andrew Penman of Stormonth Darling Solicitors, Kelso in the Scottish Borders. Read the MEDIA COVERAGE of the case, details which the Law Society of Scotland and several Edinburgh law firms tried to bury.

If you have a similar experience with Stormonth Darling Solicitors, or any other corrupt law firm, we want to hear about it at scottishlawreporters@gmail.com